MegaMan
by Magnus Prime
Summary: An attempt at a 'novelization' of the original MegaMan for the Famicom/NES - When a robotics scientist turns evil, a housekeeping robot becomes a war machine to fight him.
1. Birth of a Legend

**MegaMan**

  
Prologue – Birth of a Legend

  
"Okay, I'll do it," the young man agreed.

Doctor Thomas Light looked down sadly at his 'son'. "Thank you, Rock."

The android named Rock had originally been created to serve as a housekeeper, and to assist Dr. Light and Dr. Wily with their further experiments into robotics. With Wily having gone rogue, and the subsequent abduction and reprogramming of several of the scientists' first experiments, drastic measures were called for.

Still recovering from injuries sustained during his creations' departing attack, Dr. Light shuffled over to a nearby table, and reached into a pocket of his white lab coat, still dirty and damaged from falling debris. Producing a pen, he unfurled a blueprint across the worktable.

Rock's original schematics.

The doctor finished outlining the planned upgrades over the blueprint image, jotted down some notes and calculations beside them, then re-rolled the print. "Roll!" he called up a nearby staircase. "Come here, please!"

Within a minute, a young woman in a simple red dress bounded down the stairs. A dirtied white smock covered the front. "Yes, Doctor! The living room and dining room have been restored, and… What's the matter, Dr. Light?"

Dr. Light motioned to a chair by the worktable. "Sit down, please."

Roll obliged, blinking several times in confusion. "Am I malfunctioning, Doctor? I ran a self diagnostic this morning before starting rep-"

The old scientist waved his hands, one of which still held the blueprint. "No, no dear, It's not you." He looked down at the marble floor of the laboratory for what seemed the hundredth time that day. "I…I need your help in a very delicate operation."

"What kind of operation? I thought your knee was fine?"

"No, not for me…" he handed his 'daughter' the schematics.

"What's this?" Delicate hands unrolled the print. "Okay, this is Rock's schematic, but…" Her eyes widened as she turned to Rock. "You can't be serious!"

Rock nodded with a resigned expression. "There are probably other options, but we don't have the time…"

"No! You're not made to fight!" she jumped from the chair to stand before her creator. "Doctor you can't…" She trailed off as she saw Dr. Light make two short wiping motions across his face.

The doctor lifted reddened eyes to his 'daughter'. "And I don't want to…" he said hoarsely. "But as your brother pointed out, we have no time…"

Roll looked from the tear-stained doctor to her equally distressed brother. "That means you'll have to fight…them…."

Rock only nodded, slowly.

  


*****************

  
The operation went by with few difficulties, much to Roll's chagrin. She had hoped there would be enough trouble to force a different solution, but before long, the operation was complete.

Dr. Light swiveled the magnifier away from his face and closed the final panel on Rock's right arm. "Now, as they say, we wait."

Roll pulled the air filter away from her face. "For what, doctor?"

The doctor sighed heavily as he rubbed a knot in the back of his neck. "I've incorporated several new systems into his design. It…will take a while for him to learn where they are and then how to access them." He started to remove his lab smock. "He'll still need to learn how to use them when he awakens."

As she left with her father, Roll turned to look back at her brother on the operating table.

What had once been a shirt-and-blue-jeans outfit had become a one-piece suit of armor in two shades of blue. A stylized and similarly colored helmet covered unruly hair. His right arm had been completely replaced; In addition to the capabilities of a normal arm, the hand could now retract to form a weapon barrel.

The young woman released one final shudder before closing the door.

  


*****************

  
Two days passed, but the light above the door refused to blink, causing both Dr. Light and Roll to worry.

The light had been put in place to alert them to Rock's awakening.

"He has to wake up soon or there'll be no city left to protect…" Roll absently rocked herself, wrapped in her own embrace and watching the light. "…and I won't have a brother…"

Inside the operating room, Dr. Light sat and stared at his 'son'. "I'm sorry Rock, I…" he trailed off before looking at the floor. "No. I can't call you 'Rock' anymore. 'Rock' is for times of peace." His eyes grew misty again. "I've made you a war machine, haven't I?" He wiped his eyes before taking Rock's unmodified hand in his. "You will be 'Rock' again someday, but for now…now…you need a different name."

"How about MegaMan?"

Dr. Light turned to see Roll just inside the door. "I'm sorry, dear, I didn't hear you come in." He accepted the proffered hug. "MegaMan? How did you come up with that?"

Roll walked around to stand on the other side of the table, never taking her eyes off of her brother. "He's really powerful now, isn't he?"

Dr. Light nodded sadly. "I hope so." He nodded again, more vigorously. "Yes. Yes, I understand." Arching his eyebrows, he said, "MegaMan…" He could hear the one-word usage.

Roll smiled at her creator. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up." Noting a puzzled look from the doctor she added, "To make sure he likes it."

For the first time since Dr. Wily's departure, Dr. Light laughed. Not a loud laugh, or a hearty laugh, but enough to ease four days worth of built-up tension.

  


*****************

  
"He's up! He's up!" Dr. Light ran into Roll's room and slapped the override key, bringing her out of her recharge cycle early.

It took the young woman slightly longer than usual to initialize. "What'zz the matterrr, Docctorr?" Trying to talk before her speech routines had fully initialized gave her an embarrassing slur.

"He's up!" Dr. Light shouted one last time before hurrying from the room to retrieve a lab coat.

Roll bolted from the hallway and down the stairs to be greeted by a blinking light. "He's up!" she shouted.

"I know! It's been three days!" Dr. Light fumbled the key card out of his pocket, nearly dropping it, before sliding it through the access reader.

It actually took only 0.00362 seconds for the reader to permit access to the operating room, but to the two, it still seemed like an eternity. The doctor had to keep Roll from straight-arming the door.

Rock was already trying to sit up when they got to him. "Doc…tor…?"

Dr. Light opened his mouth, but Roll beat him to it, trying to throw her arms around her prone brother. "Oh, you're awake you're awake it's been three days and we were worried about you I was afraid you'd never wake up but you have so everything's okay now right?"

Roll's enthusiasm proved infectious, as Dr. Light laughed. "Roll, dear, give him some room!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, brother!" After helping Rock sit up, Roll moved off to sit in a nearby chair and looked to her 'father'. "Can I tell him about the name?"

Rock looked from sister to father and back. "What name?"

"Rock…" Dr. Light began, "I thought that maybe you'd like to…use a different name until this is finished, until you're through fighting." Rock looked confused, so he tried another approach. "Would you want your name associated with fighting?"

Rock's eyes widened. "No way!"

The doctor nodded approvingly. "You're a good man. I'm proud of you." He looked to Roll. "Now you can tell him about it."

Rock looked to his sister. "What, you came up with a new name for me?"

Roll nodded shyly. "MegaMan."

"MegaMan…MegaMan…" Rock appeared to turn the name over in his head several times. He finally shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "It makes me sound like some kind of warrior, but…I guess that's what I am, now." He looked up at the doctor. "May as well." 

Rock, now MegaMan, slid off of the table. "I'd like to learn about my new systems, if that's all right, Doctor." He examined his right hand. "I know where they are, I just don't know how to use them."

Dr. Light experienced the same feelings that parents have felt when sending sons and daughters to war. "Let's…" He cleared his throat. "Let's get started, then…" 


	2. Bombs Away!

Chapter 1 - Bombs Away!

  
_Remember, Rock - I mean MegaMan. Quick in, quick out. That's all your teleporter is for... _

Dr. Light's parting words rang in MegaMan's head as he materialized in the former industrial section of the city. He realized that he was still feeling the effects of the teleport when he stumbled after taking only two steps. _This'll take some getting used to. _

While waiting for the effects to wear off, he took in his surroundings. He blinked at the sight of a..._tree? Looks more like something out of a Lego set._ Ahead, several buildings had collapsed.

"This is gonna take a lot of jumping." He patted his thighs. "Well, hope my leg enhancements are up to the task." Rock's physical capabilities had originally been designed to perform similar to a human's. Part of his conversion involved increasing his jump height through several experimental modifications that Dr. Light had tried to explain to him. Rock didn't care about the theories, as long as the applications worked, which of course they did.

  


* * *

  
It didn't take long for MegaMan to figure out who Wily had placed in charge of this area, as he stopped to study a small crater in the ground. _Hassan... _

Hassan had been designed for building demolitions. With major renovations planned by the city council, Light and Wily decided to make Hassan their first contribution to society. The robot could study a condemned building and exactly figure what size, yield, and placement would bring down a building in the fastest and safest manner possible.

MegaMan straightened from the crater and noted the wrecked buildings around him. _Looks like Dr Wily really screwed him up._ He ran, leaving the crater and buildings behind him.

Further down the torn-up road, he spotted a construction worker's hard hat. Relief washed over him yet again as he remembered the evacuation of the city. Every emergency unit had been dispatched, allowing for a fast and reasonably safe evacuation. _Thank goodness no one was killed._ Several bumps and bruises from panicked civilians, but no fatalities.

As he jogged up to the helmet, he saw the name 'Logan's Construction' across the side. _That's the company Hassan was assigned to before..._Smiling, he reached down to the hat. _I guess I could at least return this to... _

He never had the chance, as the lip of the helmet suddenly popped up, revealing a pair of eyes underneath.

"What the...!"

MegaMan stumbled back as the eyes fired a triple spread of some kind of bullet. One bullet went high, but another struck him in the shoulder, the third in the shin.

From what he finally considered a safe distance, MegaMan raised his right forearm to look at it. A panel slid open to reveal a diagnostic display. Seven columns were outlined on the display, but only one currently had any readings. The lit column represented the low-level forcefield that protected his human-like skin from damage. The others...

  


* * *

  
_"MegaMan..." Dr. Light addressed the young man in blue seated next to the lab desk. "There's a chance that I may not be able to...restore them to their former selves. If such is the case, I need you to..."_

"You'll need me to at least bring back their weapon systems, won't you?" Rock asked quietly.

The doctor nodded sadly. "I understand. You and Roll would like your big happy family again, and believe me, no one would like that more than myself. However..." Dr. Light pulled up a chair to sit across from MegaMan. "You have to understand, when a robot's intelligence is created, the process is functionally like a human raising a child. What Wily appears to have done is taken the teenager and tried to rewrite his childhood."

MegaMan's eyes lost focus as he tried to understand. Finally, he looked into his creator's eyes. "I'm still going to try to bring them back."

The doctor laid a reassuring hand on MegaMan's shoulder. "And I hope you succeed..." 

  


* * *

  
MegaMan snapped out of his memories and looked down at his newly-modified right arm. Barely a moment of concentration was necessary, and his hand retracted so his forearm could reconfigure itself into a gun barrel. Even though he was a robot, MegaMan still felt a sense of loss in knowing that his original, unmodified arm was back at the laboratory. Safe, but...not part of him anymore.

He was able to quickly destroy the helmet creature as soon as it popped up when he came in range.

Several different types of interceptors greeted him as he made his way though the area. Some popped up from the ground like sentries, while others hopped, chasing him for a distance before giving up.

_I must be getting close_ he thought as he dodged rocket after rocket, only to come upon a humanoid, a green suit of armor that enjoyed jumping while shooting.

After using careful timing to dispatch the enemy, MegaMan approached what appeared to be a large warehouse door that opened as he drew near. As he entered, he kept his eyes moving, watching for any surprises. _No telling what Wily's left for me._

After shooting his way through a short hallway of patrolling 'eye-bots', he came to a vertical corridor with a ladder leading downward. Acting on instinct, he jumped into the middle while looking down, figuring he could adjust his trajectory if necessary.

It was necessary. More eye-bots lined the walls of the corridor, and they had no problem colliding with him while making their rounds.

Hundreds of feet and several poundings later, MegaMan's structural integrity had been reduced to 50%.

And another set of warehouse doors greeted him from below....

  


* * *

  
Roll nervously twirled a lock of her shoulder-length blond hair as she gently rocked herself in her chair.

After a while she stopped completely to look to her right. "Doctor?"

Dr. Light smiled at his daughter tenderly. "He'll be all right, Roll. We thoroughly tested his teleporter before he left."

"But I'm still worried," Roll protested. "The teleport is for when he's successful, or...not."

"I know, dear." The doctor wrapped her in a fatherly embrace. "He'll be...all right."

* * *

  
MegaMan landed on his feet, as expected. _Ugh. If I were human, I'd say I feel like crap._ He checked his Integrity meter. "Thirty-five percent. Not good." He closed his arm panel to investigate the new area.

It was a fairly large room, about the size of a warehouse, making the door style seem appropriate. Rather than having the angled roof one would expect, though, the roof was squared off.

MegaMan noticed a movement from above and whirled, gun-arm extended, then he blinked.

Standing before him was another of Dr. Light and Dr. Wily's creations. The robot stood roughly a head taller than MegaMan but stood hunched over for some reason. His torso was designed to resemble an oversized old-style bomb. His orange-colored arms and legs were designed proportional to his height, and his similarly-colored head sported what in hairstyling terms could be called a Mohawk. In his hand he held a smaller version of his torso, only the bomb in his hand was the real McCoy.

MegaMan's face widened into a smile as he reverted his arm and started toward the other robot. "Hassan! I've found you! Dr. Light was so...worried..." MegaMan trailed off as he saw into his brother's eyes and his step faltered. "Hassan?"

"Bomb Man!" the orange robot replied.

MegaMan blinked. "Hassan?"

"Bomb Man!" Hassan repeated.

Were his systems capable, MegaMan's face would have paled. "Hassan, are you okay? It's me, Rock."

"Bomb Man!" Hassan repeated. "Bomb Man Bomb Man Bomb Man!!"

And with that he drew his arm back and let fly with a bomb. MegaMan watched in horror as it arced perfectly to land on him. He ran away from the bomb and his brother before it could land. "Wait, Hassan! Don't you recognize me?"

Hassan, now 'Bomb Man', simply cackled and lobbed another bomb, forcing MegaMan to dodge yet again.

Eventually, he found himself running around the room in circles, simultaneously trying to dodge the bombs and plead with the insane robot to 'remember'.

Upon completion of another lap around the room, he quickly checked his Integrity meter.

Five percent.

MegaMan looked up just in time to see another bomb arcing toward him.

_Work in Progress, Please Stand By..._


End file.
